All Tomorrow's Parties goes to Springfield

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, has been confirmed as curator of the 2003 US All Tomorrow’s Parties, which will take place at the University of California in LA next June. The promoters behind ATP have always appointed a curator to lead the artistic planning of the underground music festival, though Groening is the first non-musician to be picked. Word is that, for the first time for an ATP event, tickets will be sold for individual gigs rather than the whole weekend, after the first come first served admission policy for weekend ticket holders this year meant some fans missed the bands they has specifically come to see. Though the man behind ATP, Foundation’s Barry Hogan was unsympathetic at the time saying, "If anyone bought a ticket just to see one act then you totally didn't understand what ATP was offering and you need your head checked,” it seems UCLA management want a more organised ticketing approach. Groening is a former rock critic who has repeatedly said music is his main passion. Artists he has championed as a journalist tend to of the more experimental type, including Pere Ubu, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Diamanda Galas, the Minutemen, and the Residents. It’s a list that should make him popular with ATP regulars.